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“I do,” she admits, her blue eyes twinkling.
“Try holding onto the railing, Jace. You have to learn to walk before you can run.”
I glare at her.Is she fucking serious?“You have to learn to walk before you can run.” I mimic her in a childish tone that has her throwing her head back and chuckling.
The way her hair blows in the breeze and the way her breath comes out into the icy air is captivating, she’s so goddamn beautiful, so goddamn mine.
“How the hell are you so good at this?”
“I used to roller skate up and down the sidewalk with Dougie Schooler while you were mowing lawns.” My lip turns up in a sneer; that little prick was trying to make a move on my girl.
“Great, another guy on my hit list. I’ll break his fucking legs; see how good he is at skating then.”
Thalia chokes on a laugh like I’m kidding. I’m not.
Then her face turns serious. “I’ve taken Harper skating a few times. We could take her together?”
My chest bursts with pride at the mere mention of our daughter, and with a steely determination, I grip hold of the banister with both hands, dig my toes into the ice, and pull myself up to my feet.
“You’re doing it, Jace,” Thalia hollers, and I’m about to open my mouth again to tell her to chill the fuck out, I’m only standing, but the lights dim as planned, and I huff as a solo light illuminates the center of the ice rink. Thalia turns her head over her shoulder, and her eyebrows rise.
“We’re supposed to be over there right now.” I throw my hand out toward the light and wobble in the process.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” She turns and glides over toward the center of the rink.
After a few failed attempts at pushing myself forward, I give up, and like a fucking loser, I shuffle my ass over to the center of the rink while she stands biting into her lip to refrain fromlaughing. When I finally reach her, she holds out her hand for me, and as we connect, I pull her down on top of me, causing the laughter to bubble over into me too. Her face is so close to mine I feel the heat from her breath, and when our gazes meet, the music kicks in.
“Die For You” by The Weekend begins to play, and my lips move with every lyric of the song. I tell her how much I love her, how I would die for her and kill for her because I could never take being apart from her again.
Her eyes fill with unshed tears. Tears for our past, what could have been, what should have been, and, more importantly, tears for what we’ve accomplished—what we have now.
My fingers caress her cheek, and the chill sends a shiver through me, but when her lips find mine through the coldness, warmth spreads over my body like a wildfire, heating me with the reassurance I always so desperately need.
Filling me with her devotion.
Chapter
Fourteen
JACE
The guys make themselves scarce for when we return home, so I pick Thalia up bridal-style and walk us through the apartment toward our bedroom.
I let her slip from my arms when the door closes behind us, and the gasp of surprise that escapes her is like music to my ears.
My bed is covered in fresh red rose petals, and candles light the room. She turns to face me with tears in her eyes. “Jace?”
“I’ve so many regrets, Tia. Too fucking many to list. But my biggest regret is not taking you to college with me and not giving you any other option than to come with me.” I tell her how I feel, the thoughts that have plagued me for years. How many times I wish I’d have given her no other option but to run away with me. I’d have looked after her. I’d have protected her like I should have.
“I was too young,” she adds with tears in her eyes, touching my face. “Please don’t turn tonight into something sad, into regrets.”
She’s right, and with that thought in mind, I step back from her and turn to face the bed. Then I scrub a hand through my hair and chuckle. Everything I’ve done tonight has been out of character for me, but I simply wanted to be everything she could ever want.
I turn my head away from her. “You are everything I could ever want. You all are.”
I hadn’t realized I’d voiced my words, and now my cheeks heat with embarrassment at exposing how I feel. “Jace Matthews, are you blushing?”
“Shut the fuck up, Thalia.” I pinch at her hips playfully. “We never got to have a proper date, or prom, or graduation. I wanted to do something special for you. Something you should have had.”
